City pushes for a more sustainable Greenville

New goals look at trails, waste and energy reduction

Jun. 15, 2013

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Staff writer

Outlined across three categories and 45 goals is the city’s push to move to a greener Greenville by the end of the next fiscal year.

The document, called the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, zooms in on the key areas of mobility, recycling and energy use to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

Most of the goals involve the legwork and analysis that normally precede major capital projects, such as a plan to develop a neighborhood trail system and a bicycle boulevard parallel to Augusta Street between South Main Street and Mauldin Road.

A bicycle boulevard is a street that’s been optimized for bicyclists and discourages cut-through vehicle traffic, according to the Pedestrian and Bicycling Information Center.

“There are a lot of policy implications that can come out of this, but we want to get started having discussions and doing the research,” said City Manager John Castile.

City Council voted to approve the plan drafted by the Green Ribbon Advisory Committee earlier this week. Council members said any moves would involve public input, especially when it comes to the plan’s waste management goals. A “pay-as-you-throw” garbage program was proposed as a way to reduce curbside solid-waste collections city wide.

Mauldin residents shot down a similar proposal in 2010.

“We’re not the first municipality to struggle, particularly with recycling, and how to handle that,” said Mayor Pro Tem David Sudduth. “Some have crashed and burned in the process, and we want to avoid that.”

One of the largest goals involves looking at redevelopment opportunities for the closed 98-acre landfill on Mauldin Road that has been cited as the source of 6 percent of the city’s carbon emissions.

The sustainability plan would also look at adding more electric vehicle charging stations, reducing energy use in government buildings and establishing green standards for all city building projects.

In the past, the Green Ribbon Committee has singled out the building sector as key to lowering Greenville's carbon footprint. A 2010 inventory revealed citywide greenhouse gas emissions at 31.7 tons per person a year, about 40 percent more than the national average of 19.1 tons.

Reaching these goals, said chairman Doug Webster, will require collaboration between the committee and city staff.